


Don't Take This Human From Me

by Nehesemhotep



Series: Weakness [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, BAMF Castiel, Dean Whump, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, POV Castiel, Protective Castiel, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 05:02:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3838108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nehesemhotep/pseuds/Nehesemhotep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during season 6, just after the Sam and Dean arrived back in the "real" world after the French Mistake episode.<br/>If Balthazar took off before Castiel arrived, and Raphael took the Winchesters instead, torturing them, and especially Dean, to break Castiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first piece involving any kind of real "whump". I hope it is not atrocious. I usually write fluff. Haha.

By the time Cas had made his way to the parking lot, Balthazar and Raphael were gone.  All that remained at the scene were shards of broken glass.  That was worrisome.  Sam and Dean were transported from Bobby’s house by Balthazar and they didn’t have the Impala, so where…?  Cas quickly flew into the nearby buildings, scanning each one.

He also noticed something strange in the way Dean’s longing was fading in and out, like only an echo.

_**Balthazar**_. Cas commanded, hoping to draw the other angel out. After a few long minutes, he felt the tremor in his mind as Balthazar reached out with his voice. _Of course_ Balthazar wouldn’t trouble himself to actually meet face to face, Cas thought with a hint of amusement.  

Or, as a trickle of foreboding reached Cas’ mind. Maybe Balthazar didn’t want to come here because something happened he wasn’t too happy to share.

_**Balthazar! Where are the Winchesters?** _ The feeling of foreboding was magnified by the amount of time it took Balthazar to respond.

**_Ah. Right. Them._ **

The non-answer made Cas began to grind his teeth, briefly understanding why the boys hated when he himself was reticent.  He began to retort angrily when a hot flash of pain pierced his mind. It was mingled with Dean’s longing, which had surged helplessly.  Cas felt the first vestiges of panic, he forcibly slowed his heart rate and tried to pinpoint Dean's location.  But again, it was like a signal bouncing place to place. The only way prayers could be distorted like that was if it was done intentionally.

Cas allowed the fading pain to pass through to Balthazar, along with anger. **_Raphael?_** Cas asked, already knowing the answer. Balthazar should have known. He shouldn’t have left the two with him.

_**Cas-listen, I didn’t think-** _

        _**You should have**_

The frequency was quiet for a minute.

_**He won’t kill them.** _

**_That is not-you are going to help me find them. Now._ **

_**I would, really, I would, but you’ll notice the nice little trick he’s playing. I can’t find them.** _

Cas cursed internally.

**_Fine. I’ll do it myself._ **

Then Cas cut off the signal and took off to the nearest and strongest signal location. If he could just pin the longing down to a restricted area, he could search it, building by building, corner by corner. Right now the “restricted area” was about the size of United States. Cas began to feel worry edge into his mind again, and he attempted to push it away. Emotions would only get in the way. He had a mission. And very little time.

   

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *trigger warning*
> 
> Rape/non-con occurs off-screen. This chapter only.

    So Cas looked. And looked. And it seemed whenever he got close to where Dean’s longing and prayers were coming from, all that would be there was a lingering scent. And Dean’s prayers were horrible to hear. The flashes of pain Cas felt when he reached for Dean’s mind made him recoil. He couldn’t risk completely finding his way into Dean’s dreams, for fear of Raphael using it to pin him down.

Cas stood, hands fisting and mouth twisted in consternation, in a small town in Michigan.  He had narrowed down his search area to a few states, but it still wasn’t enough.

_**Cas!!** _

Dean was in his mind again, and Cas reluctantly reached for the desperate voice.  Where at first Cas had leapt at the prayers Dean sent him, now it was like touching a hot stove.  Raphael couldn’t win. Cas couldn’t negotiate.  If he did, Dean was dead anyway. And Sam. Everything would be lost.  

The only option was for Cas to find Dean and Sam and take them by force.  At least he still had the small reserve of souls Crowley had “loaned” him. That was his only hope.

_**Cas, you bastard, where the hell ar-no! Cas don’t let him...** _

Then there was a wave of fear so great it knocked Cas to his knees. His palms hit the weeds and the dirt as he fell beside the road.   _This is what hell is_ , Cas thought.

And this is what hell _was_ , for Dean.

_**Cas! No! GET him off-Cas, Cas, please.** _ Dean’s voice broke on the last two words, blind with panic and fear. Cas knelt, gasping, his own emotions overtaking him.

_Dean. Dean. Dean._

It was all that he could think. Wildly, he threw caution to the wind and reached out to Raphael, **_Raphael, please, not this. This is the righteous man. Please._**

Cas remembered Sam, on their first meeting, saying that angels couldn’t slaughter whole towns. They were supposed to show mercy.

The vessel of Lucifer, the boy with the demon blood, was more merciful than angels. And now he was being held, tortured, by Raphael. And Dean. His Dean.

There was no response from Raphael. Only a self satisfied and twisted sense of pleasure surged through the communication.  Cas gagged, and he realized he was sobbing.  He seemed to have lost control of his vessel.  He was terrified.

_What was happening to him._

_Why him. Why Dean_. With a choked sob, Cas wanted to curl in on himself. Dean’s cries for help had stopped. And even his longing had waned. Did that mean Dean no longer believed Cas wanted to save him? No. He couldn’t lose Dean. He couldn’t.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who loves BAMF Cas? Cause' I do!

Cas appeared on a road in the Indiana countryside, just outside of a medium sized town.  Yellow tape marked the location of a new school, it’s construction being halted by some human dilemma that Cas didn’t know nor care about.

All he knew is that Dean and Sam were there. Well, he guessed anyway that Sam was there. He knew Dean was, and doubted Raphael would separate the two, not because he couldn’t defend two areas, but because he knew it would hurt the brothers to see each other in pain.  

The school radiated outward like a repelling magnet. The sigils inside were preventing him from entering. He was at an impasse.  Cas took a deep breath and made a decision. He called out for Rachel, one of his most loyal lieutenants. A flutter, and then she stood next to him.

        “Castiel. What is it? Why are you here?” Rachel’s critical eye looked over the school yard and grimaced at the sigils effect.

                “Rachel. I need to get inside there. It is a stronghold for Raphael.”  

Rachel tilted her head, “It is well guarded. We should collect a team together.”  Cas shook his head,

        “No. I go alone.”  

Rachel took a step back, “Sir, that is suicide.  You are not able to-”

Cas cut her off, “Can you get me in there, or not?”  His tone was harsher than he intended, and for a second he thought Rachel was going to argue the point further. But her trust held.  She paused,

        “We have someone-Samandriel, I believe, in Raphael’s camp. He might be able to undo the sigils. But his cover would be lost. What will you achieve from this?”

Cas wavered, and his knees buckled as Dean called out for him, grief passing through his mind.  The prayer was little more than a whimper. A low, _**Cas, I need you**_.  

Rachel stepped forward in concern, "Castiel? What is it?”  Cas held one hand out, keeping her back, the other clutching his forehead.  His voice was especially gruff as he looked back at her,

        “Tell Samandriel to do it. Now.”

Rachel bit her lip, brow furrowed, before giving a curt nod, and she was gone.

Minutes went by like hours, and then suddenly the force from the school was gone, and Cas nearly pitched forward from the lack of it.  He went from the silence of the leaf washed schoolyard to a high pitched sound. A scream.

        Cas blind-sided the angel hovering over Dean, noting in a white rage the blood dripping from the knife in his hand.  All of the metal and everything not bolted down in the room began to vibrate. Then with a bang they lifted and flew against the walls, sharp instruments causing the angels in the room to duck. Cas gathered the remaining souls in him and placed a gentle hand on Dean’s eyes and threw the energy outward.

Now it was the screams of angels that filled the air. Then nothing.

Just Dean’s harsh breathing as he lay, shaking under Cas’ hand. Cas removed his palm from Dean’s eyes and slid it down so it cupped his cheek gently.

        “Dean.” he said softly. Dean’s eyes welled with fresh tears, and the amount of relief that Cas saw there caused his throat to close up. And the guilt. It was like Dean had given up on Cas ever finding him. That he never expected him to come. Cas stroked a thumb over his cheek, flinching when droplets of water hit his hand. He was crying, again.

        Anger began to stir in Castiel, anger at his recent lack of control over his vessel. Anger that Raphael knew his weakness and exploited it. Anger that Castiel had a weakness and knowing that there was, as Dean put it, _no way in hell_  that was going to change.  The anger cleared the tears and the trembling in his hands, and as Dean coughed slightly, Cas asked him gently,

        “Where is Sam?”

        Dean just shook his head, and looked at the door on the right side of the room. Cas nodded and ran a hand through Dean’s hair as he stood, “I’ll get Sam. I’ll be back Dean, I promise.” He paused before turning back to Dean once, taking off his trench coat and putting it on Dean’s shoulders, guiding his arms through the sleeves. Dean was bare chested, though he still wore his jeans.  Cas noted with a lurch that they were hastily pulled up, and the belt was laying now halfway across the room.      

        Clearing the lump in his throat, Cas strode out of the room, holding his angel blade. It seemed unlikely that there were more angels here, or they would have confronted him by now.  The hallway passed by two classrooms, tarps littering the floor. Rounding the corner Castiel saw Sam, handcuffed to a radiator, out cold. Quickly walking over he freed Sam and picked him up effortlessly. He didn’t appear to have many injuries. Some minor bruises and cuts on his knuckles that were probably from Sam throwing punches, defensive wounds.

        Cas walked back into the classroom where Dean lay curled in on himself, his nose tucked into the collar of the trenchcoat. He knelt, placing a hand on Dean’s forehead. Dean turned wary eyes up to him, quickly turning with relief again as he recognized Cas,  “Dean. May I heal you?”

        Cas had healed Sam’s wounds, but considering what Dean had gone through, he felt he needed to ask. Dean nodded, though he turned his eyes away. Cas let his grace repair the wounds over Dean’s body, and felt Dean shake with relieved sobs as he did so. Then, closing his eyes, he transported them to Bobby’s.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with the story-any comments, feedback is welcomed. Toodles! :)

        Castiel already expected a rough welcome when he flew the three of them into Bobby’s, and he flexed his wings just in case Bobby decided to unleash rock salt.  Thankfully, Bobby was just out of reaching distance from any weapon, looking for something on one of the shelves in the living room.  He swiveled, his face flashing quickly from surprise and defense to recognition and then quickly, concern.  

        “Bobby, I...need help.” Cas got out stiltedly, as he more or less dropped Sam to the floor and levered an arm under Dean’s shoulders and tilting him upwards so that he rest against Cas’ chest as he knelt.  Bobby rushed over, taking in Sam’s unconscious form and intuitively seeing that Cas was not concerned, knelt next to Dean. Dean rested against Cas, coat still wrapped around him, just blinking.

        “Dean? You hear me, boy?”

        Bobby’s voice was soft and rough with overuse. It had been days since Raphael took Sam and Dean, and Castiel was sure that Bobby had been on the phone with his contacts, trying to locate his boys. For, as Cas could see, Bobby was essentially their father. And he tried to hide the guilt in his eyes as Bobby looked at him. Because this was his fault. Bobby laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder, meriting a slight flinch, and he turned a hard look at Castiel. Cas took a shaky breath. How was it that this human cowed him? That he listened and respected him as a fellow scholar. Just as he listened to Sam, and Dean. As fellow soldiers, brothers, _family_.

        “Raphael, he. Took Dean. Took Sam. I just found them.”

                “And?”  Bobby waited, his gaze unwavering.

        “And Raphael. He tortured them. Dean, he…violated..him.”

Cas was unable to meet Bobby’s eyes, but he felt rather than saw the nod and the hardening of Bobby’s shoulders. Dean had turned his face so that it was against Castiel’s chest, and still didn’t appear to be responding.  Castiel finally looked up to see Bobby’s face and was startled to see it was resigned instead of angry.  “Sam?” the hunter said tiredly.

Cas shook his head.

        “I’ll be chewing you out later, boy, I’m sure,” Bobby said quietly to Cas, “But for now let’s just get Dean cleaned up.”

So Cas and Bobby lifted Dean up and helped him shower.  Cas let Bobby do most of the care-taking, figuring Dean’s trust in him was far better warranted at this point.  Dean was mostly unresponsive, and it was so unlike Dean that Cas kept shooting assessing looks of concern to Bobby.  Bobby took charge in his gruff, good-hearted way, painting a new side of him that Cas hadn’t fully seen.  

        While Bobby wrapped Dean in a comforter, Cas lifted and settled Sam on the sofa, draping a worn quilted throw over him. Bobby tried to get Dean to use his bed but Dean shook his head and pulled back to the living room, “Sam,” was all he said. So Castiel took Dean’s cocooned form from Bobby and sat him on the coach, next to Sam’s left side, who was laying slumped against the pillows on the armrest.  Cas straightened.  He had been hearing the calls of his brothers and sisters, wondering where he was, what he had done. And more disconcertedly, _how_ he had done what he had.  Standing up to Raphael once with the power of the souls in his control was one thing. But two acts like that, there was bound to be suspicions. And rumors.

        “I have to go, I-”

“You’ll be in touch?” Bobby’s voice was accusing, “I’ve half a mind to mark this house and keep you out of here forever.”  Cas looked down, all he could think to say was _I’m sorry_. But he was beginning to understand that was never good enough. Then there was movement out of the corner of his eye and Dean moved, grabbing Castiel’s wrist and looking at him, for real, focused, this time.

        “Cas...stay, please.” Dean’s voice broke and he was trembling.  Cas took a harsh breath in, fighting his vessel once again for control. This time, he was successful. 

        His gaze softening, he sat gingerly down next to Dean, “I can’t stay long.” His voice came out nearly a whisper.  Bobby crossed his arms and stormed over to his desk, fixing a stare on Cas and making clear that he wasn’t letting Dean out of his sight.  Even with Cas. That hurt, but it was deserved. 

        So Cas sat back and felt Dean’s hand relax and pull back into the safety of his blanket.  The day began to shift, and soon the sky outside was dark. Sam was still asleep, he was fully recovered from his physical injuries but Castiel had made sure he would sleep until his usual time the next morning.  Because Sam may have Dean's best interest at heart, but Dean needed to rest.  Bobby’s head bobbed as he fought off sleep, before finally giving up.

        Soft snores and breathing from Bobby, Sam, and Dean were soon the only sounds. Dean had fallen asleep laid against Sam, his face suddenly clearing a little in rest.  Cas watched Dean, the lines on his face, his fingers protectively curled in fabric, the movement of his chest as he breathed.  Cas wished at the moment that he knew his father was out there. That he hadn’t left them. Because Castiel didn’t know very much. But he knew he loved Dean. As much as he was able. _Father_ , he thought. _Don’t take this human from me._


End file.
